The Republican journal., 1887-04-28
In Southern Mexico.

In Southern Mexico.
| QUEER OLD CITY, PATTERNED AFTER IT'S
| NAME-SAkE IN OLD CASTLE. CURIOU 5 FEA-
| TuRES OF MENICAN LIFE. SINGH LAR CRAFTS
| AND ANoCA1IoNS CARRIED ON IN THE
| STREETS.
| Correspondence of the journal
GUADALAI,RA, MENICo. April, lS>1. This
Old town. capital of the state of ,Jali-co, is con-
>idercd by many the finest il the Repuhlic-not
even excepting the Federal Capital. Opinions
are divided As to whether it or "ueba should
| rank next to the City Of Mexico iii point Of
wealth and commercial importance; and cel-
iainly to the stranger ii is far more interesting
than either from the fact that, lying remote
from the highways Of foreign travel, it has pre-
| served many of the manners and customs OF
| the middle ages. .t> Lagos is the present rail-
| way terminus, it requires two days of staging
over l3o miles of The toughest road in MeNi-
| co--to reach Guadaajara But though the DIS
| comforts of the iournt, are byno means slight.
one is well repaid for making it, and it has
| been said. with truth, that whether the travel
er comes for business or pleasure. he is sure TO
remain here much longer time than he intend-
| ed - and the longer he stays the mere tillhcillt
| il becomes to tear himself away.
Ii is one of those places which produces an
| impression difficult to describe. but never for
! gottcn-from which the visitor carries away
vivid mental pictures which come 10 him after
| wards in quiet moments like thu piiallia>lnt-
goria Of a dream, 50 unique and charming are
| they. vet SO drean-lik. and unreal Whcll r.
| called amid other surroundings.
| A. early is l5-l,
| GEADhLANARA
as it was then called--wa> Il town OF consi,l-
orahic Importance; and in lj20 it was created
;m Episcopal city. Being first settled y Span
iard> from the tastilian Guatalaara tthe All
! cirut .1rriard. II now cccayrd town Of the
| province OF the same name. on the river Hem
arcs. thirt N-live miles from MajiiI). - an al
tempt WAS made to build a city IN the New
World a. nearly ike that in The ol'i Is pos>i-
| Me. TO this end the clurchc> Of >au teban
| t>aHt stephen and anfranci>ro We're repro
| dllrod in the new t,uatlaaNaIt, i'll even after
| >ilcndor han those nj the parent city which
WAS easy for the Impoverished granircS. since
they were BULL bv wealth wrc>led from the
| conquered .iZtuc>. whom they also compelled
| to tear down their own temples and Labor l.li-
rcVar he'd il building tho>" for thc toh;lurro:'>
God. Even the government "l'alarip was
hulli IN imitation uf The palace of III" Melldo-
ZiS. tiho fcu.lai lords Of ancient Gl"daa lara.
and the Oldest toml,> IN the P"nte"i are exact
| cupic~ Of these i'll CASTLE which hell, the bones
Of The Mendoza>.
tti!adalaNafa.--uI the left hanl If the Rio
| Gian,'t !c santiago. just 80 mc> west from
| th'' City Of Mexico and 1i0 miles from the Pa
| rly-hi> been called '.the Chicago of Mexico
because uf it> enterprise and liberal ideas. IL
| present population is officially recorded S.
| SO: and though 80 remote lrcn railroads and
| little known to the outer world. it has street.
cars electric lights. tceI homes. fine system
| of WaiVr-Work>. and other adlunct> OF an ;it!
| vanccd civilization. 1t lies in Tie midst of
region 80 fertile. where fruits. cereals and
| vegetables crow in astonishing abundance,
that the outl, in@ harienda~ Yield a> high a. fifty
bu>ic'> OF rorn to the acre, tWIrc il every year
~ lie first crop being planted in February and
| tlir second i'll ,lulY.
| The city beasts of 40 less than fourteen
| plaza>. more than a dozen public fountains.
| iHnumcrablc churches. H." opera house and
| several thratrc- AN elegant Casino or Club
| House. Mint. City Hall. splendid University.
| and the only
| ACADEMY on FINE ARTS
| in Mexico. except that of san Carlos at the
| National Capital. The grand Cathedral
magnificent structure. situated on the Plaza de
| \lma>-WaS completed in lGl>: but it, outer
| appearance WIS great. impaired lN the earth
| quake of ISIS. which DESTROYED the cupoa> of
| beth lt> towers.
| The N1gdfio. OF government Palace. occupies
the @ht side of The Plaza de .\rIna>- Plaza
Mayor a> it is often called. 1t i noble
| building. of the same style Of old Spain. hut
with beautiful facade.
| The other two sides of the plaza are lined
| with handsome artiulc> filled with wcll--tockrd
shops. in which native goods Of every tc>crip-
lion. rs well A. those from the nitcti STATES.
| Europe. China and the orient may he Obtained
| If one has money enough to pay the fabulous
| prices doubled by the duties attached. Mcl-
| rliahi>, i dear everywhere iii Mexico. but
particularly - i'll Ines" remote cities hidden
| among the mountains on account OF the diii-
cIltlc> of transportation.
Guadalaiara'> Alenaaa. or public walk. COM
main;> the admiration Of every visitor. being
beautifully laid out with fountains. trees and
| p,.t am -l,,r, u al
| walks beside streams Of ruunin. water.
| From the top of the Cathedral Tower. the
| lover ot the picturesque may obtain view
| which will delight his soul. One thing that
| will probably strike him with surprise. if new
| 10 Mexican cities. is the absence OF chimncys.
| which in other countries form SO prominent
| feature of such views. In all this sunny country
there is no such thing rs a stove or Fireplace,
| hence he chimncy>. In .1ali>co the temperature
| remains at about 20 dec. from wear to wear. and
| though the Traveller feels inclined to keep in
the shade at noon-day, he should Wear flannel
| under rlcthn@ constantly and light over
coat in the evening. The cooking is ali done with
| charcoal. Ill Dutch ovens built ont of doors. or
| III cartherh pot~->nar to our large->iZp plant
lar-, partly filled with Goals. apon which smaller
| lar> are placed. thimney> would lie a SUPER
| fluffy. for nobody wants Il fire IN the house
with the Thermometer never below the ,cycn-
ties: and for the same reason he objects to eli
| closing himself IN IA conservatory. by putting
heaven are welcome. But though he wanted it
| never so badly. fuel enough TO run one of our
wa>tetul cooking machines would he entirely
| out of the question. since coai-w hich i mostly
! imported from En"l.nd-cn>ts
TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS PER ION.
and wood go per cord, Gasoline i, lnoAta-
able. and petroleum sells for ST y, per gallon
Various trades are carried on in Guaaaara
With great success. particularly >ilver-smithng.
| back-smlthlnr and carpcntering. Among the
| manufactures. those of iron. steel. glass and Il
| peculiar KIND Of pottery are celebrated all over
| the Republic Indeed the fame of "Guadalaara
| pottery l. worldwide. The Queere>t designs
Of cafutes. odd water-iug> with two Spout> or
one. jars. mugs, pitchers with long noses and
| >tubby handles. etc. etc.-madc of baked clay,
highly glazed, with black, pale gray or dark
red ground. painted with impossible flowers or
| figures which according to scripture it would
be no sin to wor>hip.-al quaint enough to
rank high in any collection of ceramics. When
| new. tins ware lmparlS 10 The water il contains
a strange flavor. which is greatly rel>hed by
the MeNican>. but A. much d>likcd by most
| other people.
The @ayc>t. of zarapc> and the finest of
reho-os are also manufactured hcrcabouts: also
paper, and printed calico. The agrec-w ork
of the Guadaajaran jewellers is simply Won
itflui, ana may he seen any day in every stage
OF progress. because i'll ali tropical countries.
as in the far East. the majority of workmen
followed their Vocations in the open air. The
gold and >lver-smith> ply their Intricate trade
outside their little shops. on the strect-corners,
anywhere. undistur5ed by the dust and con-
fusion around them. They make exquisite bits
Of ornameniaton of the gold known in COM
mercc As ''etruscan,' meaning the dark rich.
reddi>h-yelow variety. These works are much
more popular in Europe than on this continent.
and across the Atlantic no collection of Jewels
or ornaments is considered complete without a
set of Mexican gree work.
1t is not at all like the Florcntne or Ven
ctian. and is made after an entirely different
plan. The threads of precious metal are beaten
to iniinitesimal tncneSs, twelve wires of GOLD
twisted together making Il thread no thicker
than No. "A spool cotton. The wires are all
carefully traced on sketches or patterns, and
the delicate manner in which each wire is
So,ered to the other i> one of the marveS OF
human skill. From earliest days the Mexican,
have been adopts in this kind of work kmal>hip
but 50 behind the times lattcr-,lav ariticers
that in improvidcnt Mexico human labor count,
for "cNt to nothing, and IL skilled workman
will toll for weeks over delicate toy which
sells for a few Shings.
The precious metal being here 50 plentiful
because Of the remarkable richness of the SUI.
rounding SierraS, ornaments of pure gold ant
silver are common anon" the poorest people
from great hoops in their ears to cigarctt,
fl..Ir l..f